The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-03-02
FACTS ABOUT SILVER.
The Use of Metal Among the Ancients
Where the Most Famous
Mines Are Found.

@hAato rtht
Silver, next to iron and gold, is thu
most extensively diffused metal upor
our planet. II is found frequently in I
natural state, though never chemical,
pure, being invariably mixed with golt
or copper, or sometimes anthony, ar
senic, bismuth, quicksilver or iron. II
is distinguished by its Wilderness, it:
brilliant luster when polished, its mall
eability, and its indifference to atmos
pheric oxygen. 1t is remarkable fol
its beauty, and is ten times heavier
than water. 1t does not appear to
have been in use before the delugc.
Moses does not allude TO it before that
event, but mentions only brass and
iron; but in Abraham's time it had be-
come common, and traffic was carried
on with it, and its value was eight to
one of gold. Ale was rich in silver
and gold, and bought sepulcher for
his wife. Sarah, for 400 shekels of sill
yer" $3.50. II was not coined, but
circulated only in bars or ingots, and
was always weighed. Silver usually
takes precedence in the scripture when
ever the metals are mentioned con-
jointly. Silver and gold have / none,
said Peter to the importnnate beggar,
but such as | have give unto thee,
Silver is first mentioned in Genesis
xiii, Is; but where it was first found
is unknown to us. 1t was extremely
abundant in ancient times And Sol
ONION made silver to be in Jerusalem
as stones" Il Kings ", 20; Cyrus
heaped up silver as the dust" (Zacha-
riah iX., -. In the earliest times the
Greeks obtained silver from the Pho
ceans and Laurians. The chief mines
were in Siphnos, Thessaly, and Attica.
In the latter country the silver mines
of Laur IN furnished an abundant sup
ply, and were generally regarded rs the
chief source of the wealth of Athens.
They ceased to be worked in the second
century of the Christian era The Ro-
mans obtained the most of their silver
from the very rich mines of Spain,
which had prev ously been worked by
the Carthagenians and the Phgnicans.
and which, though abandoned for those
of Mexico. are still uneXhausted. The
most important use for silver among the
Greeks was for money. At Rome, on
the contrary, il was not coined until
b. G.. 260.
Silver. in its relative value TO gold,
las varied greatly ut Il ilerent times.
In the days of the patriarch Abraham
IL was eight TO one; b. G. 1000 it was
Twelve to one; Il. G.. 800 it was thirteen
TO one; ut the commencement of the
Christian era it w;S niirs to one; A. ID.
800 it was eighteen 10 one; in l1y0 il
was eight to one; in 400 ii was eleven
to one; in l54j ii was six to one; in 1851
it was two to one; in 1000 it was ten
TO one in 1927 it was thirteen to one;
in 1900 il was fifteen and half to one.
1t maintained the latter ratio until 1872.
when il began TO rise, and in 1876 il at
tanned 10 twenty to one; IL soon after
declined, then advanced
again, and on the lst day of August,
1886, reached the highest point ever
known. twenty-five and one.quartcr to
one, since which time it has gradually
declined to twenty TO one.
Silver us regards its mines, is repre-
,ented in every portion in our planet.
The richest silver mine in the world is
Potos. 1t isIsituated on an elevation of
10, 600 feet above the level of the sea,
in a region of perpetual snow. 1t has
always been worked in very rude
manner, yet il has already produced
$3.50, 900, 900, and shows no signs of eX-
haustion. The highest silver deposit in
the world is on King Solomon's noun
tain in Colorado, $4,000 feet above the
Pacific ocean. The largest nugget of
silver yet obtained was dug up in Ari-
IONA, and weighed IS, 200 ounces. valu-
I'd at the same number of dollars. The
annual product OF the silver mines ct
North America Is estimated to be $685.
700, 600. Their total product has
amounted to 1885, 600, 900, more than
of the entire product of the
world from the earliest times TO the
present day. The silver mines of
Mexico were wrought long before
Cortez revealed them to the eyes
If Europe IN 1918. Their annual
product at the present time is
to be S32,000.000. Their
.otal product has amounted to $4,000
700, 900. In 1850 Nevada was not reck-
oned among the silver-producng coun-
ries of the world. In 1867 she could
proudly point to an annual product of
sl3 600, 600, but it has declined to So
300, 600 at the present time. The total
product of silver in Nevada has amount
ID to 1852, 100000. The annual pro-
luct of the silver mines of South Amer
ca is estimated TO be $4,000 600
Their total product to the present time
has amounted to 81, 4I0, 900, 900. The
annual ,,rnhnnt Of the cilunr rninnc Of